


The Meaning of Family

by FairyRose95



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, It doesnt last dont worry, Just Friendship, Kinda mad he aint, No Romance, Reunion, Vincent Valentine and his usual angsty self, Vincent Valentine needs to be in Kingdom Hearts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 15:11:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9613280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyRose95/pseuds/FairyRose95
Summary: Vincent Valentine hasn't been home in over ten years, and what he has been searching for hasn't come to fruition. What if, afterall this time, he has been looking in all the wrong places?





	

"Sora." 

The Keyblade wielder looked backwards to the voice, hand hanging off the door as he held it open, mid-step outside to head for the next world. Donald and Goofy were already outside but Sora let the door swing shut as he fully turned to the soft voice. "Yes ma'am?" He asked happily as he looked at the woman. 

Said woman smiled at the boy's manners as she looked at him with soft hazel eyes, "If you don't mind, I have a favor to ask of you." 

"Well, sure, what is it?" He asked, hands behind his head as he smiled up at her. She interlaced her hands behind her back as she looked down before looking back up at him again, "When you are out on your adventures, have you by any chance seen a tall pale male? Long black hair, red eyes?"

Sora set a finger on his lips, tapping both finger and foot as he thought back. After a while he shook his head before answering, "No ma'am, I haven't."

The woman smiled, "You don't have to call me ma'am, Sora. Beth works just fine." Her smile dropped and she looked to the ground, "If you by any chance see him... can you tell him that we're waiting for him to come home?"

Sora looked at her inquisitively, thinking back on a very similar conversation he had with Aerith years before, about a certain spiky haired male. Beth smiled, "You see, he isn't the friendliest of sorts. A lot like Cloud if you compare him to anyone." She sighed and set her hand against her cheek. "But... we miss him... and we're worried." She looked back towards the older blonde as he smashed his way on the computer, purposefully ignoring the conversation behind him. "He's our bestfriend..."

Cid's shoulders tensed ever so slightly before resuming his task. Beth sighed and looked back at the boy, "You don't mind... do you?"

Sora looked from male to female, a serious expression donned on his face. They didn't have the luxury he did to find their bestfriend. He looked up to Beth and nodded his head sharply, "Of course, Beth. Of course I'll do it." 

Beth breathed a sigh of relief and she sighed, "Thank you." 

***

"How many times do we have to come back to this world?!" Donald groused, pulling at the bandages wrapping around his entire body. 

Sora shrugged and gave him a toothy grin, "Aw, come on Donald, don't you love Halloween Town?" 

"No! I don't!" Donald snapped and stomped his foot. He was about to say something else before Goofy interrupted him, "It's spooooooooky!" 

"Shut up, Goofy!" Donald quacked as he shook a feathered hand at his best friend. All of a sudden a finger tapped on his shoulder and the duck flew ten feet in the air, screaming and landing on a laughing Goofy. 

"Oh, I'm sorry." A feminine voice stated, "I didn't mean to startle you." 

Sora, after recovering from the fit of laughter that overtook him, looked at the newcomer and his grin widened, "Hi Sally!" 

Sally smiled and waved at the boy, "Hello Sora, Donald, Goofy. What brings you here?"

"Oh you know, the usual." Sora put his hands behind his head, "Destroying Heartless, Nobodies, the whole shebang." 

"Hmmm... well we haven't really had that many monster incidents." Sally said and Sora's smile dropped, "Whaaa..."

"Well, it's most likely due to our new friend. He's been really helpful with the Heartless and Nobodies and helping Jack out."

"Friend?" The three questioned and Sally smiled, nodding her head. "Yes, well... He's not really _new_... he's actually been here a while, before you guys came the first time. But he sometimes goes off on his own for a while. But lately he's been staying longer and longer. It's good for the townsfolk."

"Say, what does this friend look like?" Sora asked, Sally giving an inquisitive look before answering, "Oh, um tall, pale, black hair, red eyes..."

Sora thought back to what Beth said about a week or two ago. 

_"When you are out on your adventures, have you by any chance seen a tall pale male? Long black hair, red eyes?"_

"May I ask why?" Sally questioned and Sora was brought out of his thoughts and he answered, "Oh. A friend of ours... she's looking for a man with that same description."

"Oh!" Sally smiled and clasped her hands, "Maybe he can return to his friends! He's been dreadfully quiet this entire time. I wonder if that's the case?" She began to walk down the cobblestone path, "Follow me, I think I know where he may be." 

They followed Sally into townsquare when a horde of Heartless and Nobodies appeared. 

Sora and his gang got prepared and in fighting positions, after telling Sally to get to safety, and they began to whittle down the numbers. They were doing well too, until Sora heard Donald quack, "SORA!" 

Said male turned and came face to face with a Large Body. He waited for the impact but instead he heard a loud gunshot. All of a sudden the Heartless was gone. 

He looked around for the source but found no one. He scrunched his eyebrows until a dark figure landed gracefully infront of him, causing Donald to, once again, scream. Sora ignored the duck and looked to the male. "Thanks sir! I owe ya one!" 

The male looked down at Sora with glowing red eyes. He had on a leather body suit it looked like with gold sabatons and a large three-barrelled pistol of sorts. A red bandana attempted to keep hair from getting in the male's face but failed to do so. The man just grunted before putting his gun in his holster, "You should be more careful next time." 

Sora's smile dropped. Yeah, Beth was correct in saying this man was a lot like Cloud. He cut to the chase. "Say... do you know a woman named Beth by any chance?" 

The man narrowed his eyes at the boy, what looked like sorrow filled his face before it went stonecold. "No."

"W-Wait!" Sora yelled, watching the man walk off away from the group and he sighed. Too much like Cloud.

"Well this is gonna be difficult."

***

"Vincent." Said male grunted from his spot atop of spiral hill, looking behind at the woman before looking back up again. "Why did you lie to Sora?" 

The male didn't answer, rather, just clenched his fists as he looked up at the crescent moon. Sally sighed, "You should go and see your friends, Vincent. They miss you. They're worried."

"They shouldn't." He responded, voice gravelly from unuse and curt, "They shouldn't think about me at all."

"Now why would you say that?" Sally asked and came to sit beside the tall male. Said male sighed and closed his eyes. "I failed them. I failed to protect them and that cost the life of a dear friend of ours." That was all he was going to say on the matter. 

Sally gave him a look of disbelief, "So. You failed to protect them, and you answer that with completely abandoning them?" 

Vincent glared at the woman but she held her ground and continued speaking, "I'm not saying that you can't get your own space every once and a while, Vincent, but is that really the answer? To completely leave without a word? Without a goodbye?" 

He looked away, annoyed that the female was making so much sense, but he shook his head. "It's not just the... guilt... I can't..." He sighed and shook his head before looking up, "I have lost something... and I can't seem to figure out how to get it back." 

"That's what friends are for Vincent." The male looked at her confused so she elaborated, "If you can't find your way, or lost alone on a dark path, friends are always there to bring you back." She smiled and looked up at the sky, "That's what Jack did for me." 

Vincent looked at the complete serenity emanating from the woman before sighing, "I don't think it's that easy." 

"You wouldn't know until you try, right?" 

He huffed a laugh and shook his head, "I guess so." 

Sally smiled, "That's the spirit. Now, go to Sora and them before they leave. I think they just got done helping Jack out with the pest control." 

Vincent nodded and stood, unable to get the feeling of apprehension to leave his chest.

Just what were they going to think of him?

***

When they arrived in Radiant Garden, Vincent couldn't believe how different this place was. Much more in disarray since before the Heartless took over. 

It looked to be getting better, sure, but it wasn't the same.

He followed Sora and his little group, annoyed he had to stay in a gummi ship with them for three hours. They were a little to peppy for his taste. 

They rounded the corner and Sora stopped causing the male to stop, he looked up and saw very familiar hazel eyes staring at him from the front of Merlin's house.

She walked up to the group, Sora and his friends parting, until she reached him. She cocked her head at him and leaned slightly to look at his face that he just lowered. And she smiled, "You're back."

"I..." Vincent swallowed before answering, "I am."

"I'm glad."

Vincent lifted his head slightly to see the smiling hazel orbs looking up at him. He grunted and she smiled, "What were you doing all this time?" 

"..." He crossed his arms, uncomfortable all of a sudden at the piercing stare the female was giving him. It was that soft motherly look she always gave him. To Cid. To everyone. He squirmed. "I... had to atone." 

"Atone? Atone for what?"

"For... her." 

"Vincent..." Beth frowned and leaned down to look at Vincent's face. She sighed and lifted his face with her finger so she could look him in the eyes, "You know that was not your fault."

"It was." 

"No. It wasn't." Beth said in a firmer voice than usual, one she only used when she knew she was right and was going to convince the person until they conceded. "What happened with Shera was unavoidable. You can't be in two places at once, Vincent." 

He frowned but she continued, "It was because of you that all the children made it out of here all those years ago. Yuffie... Tifa... Cloud... Leon... Aerith... Sure, Cid drove the gummi ship and played a huge part in it, but you were the one who got them to that ship. You saved their lives. Don't beat yourself up over it, like I said, you couldn't be there while saving those kids."

He sighed and looked back down and Beth cocked her head, "Is there something else?"

"I..." He gulped, "I... was also looking for something."

"What for?" She asked.

"For... for my light."

It was silent. Sora and the others were looking on at the sidelines, watching the exchange. Beth giggled and Vincent snapped his head up, "What's so funny?" He lightly growled, though not as vicious as it could have been.

"You silly goose." She lightly flicked him on the forehead and he looked at her confused, "You've been looking in all the wrong places."

"I have?"

"Of course." She smiled and stood straight, hands behind her back as Cid stood beside her. "It's been here."

"What...?" He narrowed his eyes and Beth gestured towards her and Cid, "It's been here... with us."

Her smiled widened as Vincent's eyes did the same and she said, "You didn't have to look far, Vincent."

"But..."

"No buts." Cid interjected and twirled the toothpick in his mouth before crossing his arms, "We're a family, Vince. Me, ya, and Beth. Of course yer light would be here with us. In fact." He looked at Beth than to him, "It _is_ us." 

Vincent quirked his eyebrows and Beth softly laughed, "You have always been hardheaded, Vincent." 

Cid held out the objects he had in his arms and Vincent looked down to see his red cloak and gauntlet he gave to Cloud before he ran off. The man sharply jabbed it towards the gunman, "Well? Ya gonna take it? It kinda belongs ta ya." 

Vincent lightly grabbed the articles of clothing and put them back on, the two smiling widely at him in their own ways. Cid with his lopsided smirk and Beth with her soft grin. His heart felt... lighter... much lighter. "I guess... I guess you two are correct." 

"Of course we're correct, Vince!" Cid slung an arm around the taller male, "We're always right!" 

Beth laughed softly and walked forwards to wrap her arms around the gunslinger. He hesitantly let his arms rest on her back as Cid kept a hand on his shoulder. "Welcome home, Vincent." Beth whispered. 

Vincent smiled as his heart felt lighter... his soul. They were right. All along the light he had been searching for. The light he had lost so long ago and could not find, had been with his two best friends the whole time. His family. 

Vincent then realized something.

"Chief... what are you _wearing_?"

That caused the whole group to laugh and he couldn't help but feel comfortable.

He couldn't help but feel home.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting on this site, and no lie, I am really excited! I've been formulating this in my head after rewatching some of Final Fantasy scenes from Kingdom Hearts and I just wrote a small one shot of Vincent returning to Radiant Garden (yes returning cause darn it all if he is not in Kingdom Hearts 3 I am not going to be happy!). I'm sure people have written some already but I wanted to make my own take on it! Plus, I threw in an OC cause, hey, why not? And if you want you can just think of yourself as the OC. 
> 
> I wanted to write one with Vincent and Cid as best friends, plus my OC as well cause, I don't know, I like the idea of them three best friends kinda like Sora, Riku, and Kairi. (: 
> 
> Also, I may write a continuation of this in where Vincent reunites with the rest of the Final Fantasy cast, I'm not sure yet. 
> 
> Please comment below and tell me what you think! I'm new to this site and also very VERY rusty when it comes to writing, so any positive criticism is welcome!


End file.
